Busia County Governor Paul Otwoma appeared before the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, at their Western Region offices in Bungoma, to assist with an ongoing probe into multiple graft cases reported within the county government.
According to EACC, the investigations stem from numerous reports from members of the public and the Senate regarding entrenched corruption and theft of public funds by Busia County public officials largely through revenue diversion and procurement fraud using proxy companies.
Governor Otwoma was questioned on the irregular award of tenders and payment of over KES 1.4 billion to 26 proxy companies reportedly operated by family members and associates of senior Busia County officials, including himself, during the financial years 2022/2023 to 2024/2025.
The Commission noted that of these amount, KES 90,031,678.45 was paid to four private entities namely Baya Farmcare Limited, Leokiz Investment Limited, and Multidose Agro Supplies Limited allegedly linked to the Governor and his family.
EACC had previously conducted a search operation targeting three CEC Members including those overseeing Finance, Lands and Youth & Sports.
The probe also focused on the Irregular procurement and economic crimes in the construction works for the Busia Trailer Park Yard by the County Government of Busia, during the financial year 2023/2024.
Busia County Government allegedly leased out public land parcel number Bukhayo/Bugendi/13213, which is approximately 2.4 hectares, for the construction of a Trailer Park Yard in Busia Town, without any tendering process.
As per the 25-year agreement, the county government is set to receive an annual rent of Ksh1.4 million shillings, scheduled to escalate every five years at a rate of 10%. Preliminary investigations also indicate that parking revenue is to be shared, with 30% going to the County Government and 70% to the contractor.
The project was initiated to create a parking yard to accommodate over 200 trailers and provide ancillary services for modern trailer park infrastructure, in response to public outcry over traffic congestion along the highway caused by trailers crossing the Kenya-Uganda border.
“The Commission appreciates that the Busia County investigations have attracted substantial public and stakeholder interest and has prioritized the same. Upon conclusion, the Commission will take appropriate action including recommendations for prosecution of culpable officials and recovery of any corruptly acquired unexplained wealth held by the officials,” the Commission noted.
In August last year, Busia Senator Okiyah Omtatah wrote to the Anti-graft body to launch investigations into what he termed as systemic fraud within the Busia County Executive, where over Ksh5.2 billion remains unaccounted for.
Omtatah referenced findings from an independent fraud audit report he commissioned and released in July 2025, as well as analyses of the Auditor-General’s report for the year ended June 30, 2023.
He accused officials of the “deliberate misappropriation and embezzlement of taxpayer money,” citing inflated budgets, duplicate Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) account codes, unauthorized spending, and other financial irregularities.
